Rosemary Buttermilk Biscuits

Today I realized that somehow, despite snow and freezing temperatures over the last few months, my rosemary plant from last summer is not only still alive, but thriving. I was already planning on making soup for dinner tonight, so I started searching through my cookbooks for a simple biscuit recipe that would use up some of the rosemary. These biscuits were fantastic, and I have a feeling I will be making them often in the future.

Ingredients:

2 ½ T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t ground black pepper
1-2 T diced fresh rosemary (use half as much if dried)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
½ t baking soda
2 T cold butter
¾ cup buttermilk*

*If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can substitute milk and vinegar at the ratio of 1 cup milk to 1 tablespoon white vinegar. For this recipe, I combined ¾ cup milk with ¾ teaspoon of white vinegar.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add garlic, pepper, and rosemary and sauté for a few minutes, stirring often and being careful not to burn the garlic. Remove from heat.

I wish I could somehow post the smell of this fragrant home-grown rosemary.

Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Stir with a fork until mixed well so that you do not end up with chunks of nasty baking soda surprise in your baked goods (something my grandma was known for, unfortunately). Cut in cold butter using a pastry cutter or a fork. This is easier if you cut the butter into small cubes first. Add oil and spices from pan and mix well, again using pastry cutter or a fork.

Add buttermilk and mix well until dough forms a ball. Move dough to a lightly floured surface and slice into 8 equal pieces with a sharp knife. Form each piece into a rough ball and arrange on a non-stick baking sheet. Brush tops with olive oil.

Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until brown on top. These biscuits go well with my Herbed Carrot Soup.

References:
The Moosewood Collective. “Biscuits à la Focaccia.” Moosewood Restaurant New Classics. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2001. 392. Print.

Herbed Carrot Soup

This recipe originally came from The Moosewood Cookbook, a cookbook that was my introduction to vegetarian cooking. My older siblings brought home this cookbook when I was in elementary school, and we all immediately fell in love with these flavorful recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, New York. Since then, Moosewood has released several more cookbooks and the entire collection remains a family favorite.

This particular recipe has been altered slightly from the original and is something I make at least once a month. It is a very simple recipe to make, especially since I recently bought an awesome new Ninja blender that can puree this entire recipe at once.

Ingredients:

6 cups vegetable broth
2 lbs carrots
1 T butter or oil
1 cup diced onion
1 ½ t salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ t thyme
½ t marjoram
1 t basil
1 T lemon juice
1 ½ cups coconut milk

Bring vegetable broth and carrots to a boil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Simmer for 20-30 minutes to soften carrots. When carrots are close to being done, heat oil in a frying pan and sauté onions for 5 minutes. Add garlic and herbs and cook for a few more minutes. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat.

Combine carrots and herb-onion mixture in a blender or food processor with some broth and blend until smooth, working in small batches as your blender allows. Repeat until all ingredients have been blended. I find it is easiest to use a slotted spoon to make sure all carrots have been removed to the blender.

Return blended mixture to pan. Add coconut milk and continue to heat on low for a few minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. This recipe makes at least six servings and goes well with my rosemary buttermilk biscuits.

References:
Katzen, Mollie. “Herbed Carrot Soup.” The New Moosewood Cookbook. Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press, 2000. 23. Print.